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An innings of 160 from Varun Chopra, followed up by 5-wickets from home debutant Shane Snater. It was a match defining knock from Chopra, who initially reached three figures 114 balls and finished up hitting 9 fours and 6 maximums.

Essex Eagles centurion Varun Chopra said: “I’ve had three starts in the competition this season. We speak regularly about someone in the top order making a hundred. It just allows you to accelerate when you need to if someone bats through. It was my turn today – hopefully it’ll be someone else’s on Sunday.

“But if someone from the top order can bat 35-40 overs in an innings, and get a hundred, that allows everyone else to bat around them and attack at the death. Generally if you do get hundreds in one-day cricket you’re in with a chance.

“It’s always nice to get a hundred, but even better when you go and win. It was an important win for us today. It puts us back into contention and hopefully we can build on this.”

Chopra was within four balls of carrying his bat through the innings. He said: “I wasn’t really thinking about it in the last over – I was just trying to hit six sixes! I wanted to face all six balls and just hit them as far as I could. Unfortunately I mis-hit a full-toss!”

Shane Snater had a baptism of fire at Southampton on Wednesday, but held his nerves for a five-wicket haul on his Chelmsford debut. He said: “Nerves definitely got the better of me in the beginning, but it was nice bring it back and walk away with a few wickets.

“It’s nice to pick up five wickets, but it was a team effort today. All the bowlers pulled through, and Chops with the bat. He was class.”

Essex Eagles return to Fortress Chelmsford on Sunday for the Family Fun Day against Surrey, with play beginning at 11am. Tickets for the match are on sale now with the Eagles looking to make it back-to-back wins in the competition for the first this season. Tickets are priced £15 Adults, £10 Students/Young Adults and £5 Juniors (U18s) when purchased in advance online.

>> Buy Tickets

Eagles Head Coach Anthony McGrath is urging his side to return to winning ways when they face Somerset at The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

The Eagles have lost their last two matches in the competition and currently lie in sixth place but only one win behind second place Somerset who have recorded two victories from their three matches.

Hampshire’s success on Wednesday against the Eagles took them to the top of the South Group with maximum points from their three matches but McGrath was far from happy with his side’s performance.

“Yes, I was particularly disappointed with the defeat and I’ve let the players know that,” he admitted. “You have to say well played to Hampshire but I felt we contributed to our own downfall.

“In fact, it was probably the first time this season that I’ve been really dissatisfied with our overall levels of performance and I’m looking for a big reaction against Somerset.

“Looking back to the Hampshire game, we came up short in our batting, we had a number of batters who made good individual contributions but we needed one of those to go on and play a substantial innings and that didn’t happen on what was an excellent batting wicket.

“Our bowlers sent down too many poor balls which took any pressure of the opposition batters and in the field, we need to be far more aggressive; we were conceding too many singles within the inner ring.

“So all in all, it was a bad day for us but the games come thick and fast and there’s no point in sitting around licking our wounds, we have to go out and put those setbacks behind us. But these players are an honest bunch and I’m looking for a positive reaction.

“We knew that to start the competition with three away matches would be difficult but now we have three home matches in succession. Looking at the league table, you can see how tight the league is at present and if we can win those next three games, then we are right back in contention but we need to kick-start with a win on Friday.

“We played some good cricket against Middlesex when we won our opening match in the competition and now we need to return to that level of form. I know that we are a better side than we showed against in the defeats to Gloucestershire and Hampshire.”

A number of players have been sidelined recently with injuries although some are nearing a return to first team availability.

“A couple have been playing for the second team this week so we’ll wait for an up-to-date-progress report on them plus an assessment on the walking wounded from our physio before we name our squad,” McGrath explained.

“But the encouraging news is that we are expecting one or two at least to be back in our squad very soon and that will freshen things up.”

27 Ryan ten Doeschate (C)
25 Ravi Bopara
6 Varun Chopra
1 Matt Coles
16 Sam Cook
7 James Foster (WK)
11 Simon Harmer
28 Dan Lawrence
19 Michael Pepper (WK)
29 Shane Snater
67 Callum Taylor
13 Neil Wagner
21 Tom Westley
31 Adam Wheater (WK)
99 Ashar Zaidi

Sunday sees The Cloudfm County Ground host the second of 4 Royal London One-Day Cup matches as the Eagles take on Surrey. The day is also our One-Day Cup Family Fun Day with entertainment for supporters of all ages throughout your time with us.

The action is set to get underway at 11am with gates open from 9:30am for Members and 10am for General Public. Discounted tickets are available in advance, priced at just £15 for Adults, £10 Student/Young Adults (16-24) and £5 Juniors (U18s).

>> Buy Tickets

Ready to be Entertained?

The entertainment will be up and running from when the gates open within our activity area, located in the main car park. Activities on the day includes:

– Batting Simulator – a chance to test your skills in our computer net session
– Face Painting
– All Star Cricket Area – A chance for our young fans to pick up a bat and ball, even its for the very first time!
– Jump Street – Local Trampoline Entertainment Centre, Jump Street, will give supporters the chance to get jumping!
– The Felsted Steel Band will be performing prior to play

In addition, there is also the opportunity for the Adults to visit our Tiptree Gin and Jam tasting area, located by the Essex Cricket Store.

Graham Gooch will be signing copies of the new Essex Memories book, which is avaialble to purchase now from the Essex Cricket Store. This will be taking place outside the Essex Cricket Store during the match interval.

Finally, after play all of our supporters will have the chance to meet the Essex Eagles in the Doug Insole Pavilion where you can have selfies taken, collect autographs and meet the stars of Essex!

Food & Drink:

In addition, Anne Pantry will be located across the ground for this match, with a range of home cooked hot meals and snacks. A children’s kiosk will also be available for this match providing a wide range of options for our young fans, including meatballs in tomato sauce, beef burgers, cupcakes and more.

Bringing some Young Eagle fans along? Our young fans can become part of the Eagles Club and enjoy this match plus all the other Royal London One-Day Cup and Specsavers County Championship fixtures this summer for just a £15 upgrade on the match tickets; a total price of just £20 for the season! This is available online ahead of your visit to The Cloudfm County Ground – view here.

Tickets for all Vitality Blast matches are selling fast, as ever, but now just 200 tickets remain for our home match against rivals Middlesex!

The Lord’s-based side head to The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday 6 July, and now is the time to secure your ticket for our opening Friday night, before they are gone.

Friday nights under lights return to Fortress Chelmsford, and an array of stars are due to be on show.

Adam Zampa, Ravi Bopara and Tom Westley are all set to be included by the Eagles, while Dwayne Bravo, Eoin Morgan and Paul Stirling are due to feature for the visitors.

Essex batsman, Tom Westley, is looking forward to getting out under the lights at Chelmsford again, and said: “T20 matches at Chelmsford are always special occasions. The atmosphere the crowd makes is incredible, and it really is an amazing place to play T20 cricket.

“Hopefully the Essex faithful can back us once again with sell-out crowds, and help us reach Finals Day at Edgbaston.”

Tickets are priced from £25 for Adults, £20 for Students/Young Adults, and £10 for Juniors. Members also receive discount on Vitality Blast tickets.

Get your tickets online here, or by calling 01245 254010.

Join us for the tournament opener against Sussex Sharks at The Cloudfm County Ground on Wednesday 4 July. Get tickets here. 

The Eagles could be set to introduce a new face into their line-up when they face Hampshire at The Ageas Bowl in the Royal London One-Day Cup tomorrow.

Anthony McGrath will select from a 13-man squad that includes Zimbabwe-born bowler Shane Snater, who now plays international cricket for the Netherlands.

At 22 years of age, the right-armer has claimed 12 wickets in three first-class matches, including two five-wicket hauls, plus 7 wickets in 10 List A games, with best figures of 3 for 30 against Zimbabwe.

All-rounder Callum Taylor is also named in the party as Jamie Porter is given a rest, whilst young paceman Aaron Beard is due to get overs under his belt for the Second XI.

Ryan ten Doeschate is looking for an improved performance on Wednesday, particularly from the batting unit, as the Eagles look to get back to winning ways down on the South Coast.

The Eagles skipper saw his side beaten by Gloucestershire on Sunday when, four wickets fell in the space of 33 balls after a promising opening partnership had laid the foundations for a score in excess of 300.

In the end, the visitors were left to settle for a total of 287 for 7, but were beaten as Gloucestershire reached their target with 11 balls and four wickets to spare.

“We didn’t bat well, we lost four quick wickets after the first powerplay when some of our batters lost their wickets cheaply,” ten Doeschate admitted.

“We weren’t at our best and didn’t deserve to win. People are allowed to make mistakes as they are human, but it is about how we learn from them going forward. Overall, we were a bit off the pace and we certainly need to be better as a batting unit if we  are to do well against Hampshire.”

Head Coach Anthony McGrath endorsed ten Doeschate’s views. “We were probably 30 runs short of what we would have liked to have scored after our openers put on 70 odd runs,” he said.

“Now we need to focus on getting everything right for the Hampshire game. We knew starting this competition with three away games would be tough and with only eight matches in the qualifying group, you don’t want to be playing catch-up. You can’t afford a slow start and it’s really important to get the points on the board as soon as you can.

“The 50 over competition is a format that we’ve done well in over the past couple of years and we want to continue that. We played some fantastic cricket last year and the standards we can achieve are evident so we need to rediscover that touch quickly.”

Injuries have restricted the choice of selection thus far but the positive news is that a number of players are close to returning.

“Paul Walter, Matt Quinn and Matt Coles are all close to being available for selection and that will give us the opportunity to refresh our bowling unit,” the Eagles Head coach stated.

“Meanwhile, we have to pick ourselves up after Sunday’s game and look to record our second win in the competition which would set us up nicely because we then have three home matches in succession.”

Eagles squad:

Ryan ten Doeschate (27) Captain
Ravi Bopara (25)
Varun Chopra (6)
Sam Cook (16)
James Foster (7)
Simon Harmer (11)
Dan Lawrence (28)
Shane Snater (29)
Callum Taylor (67)
Neil Wagner (13)
Tom Westley (21)
Adam Wheater (31)
Ashar Zaidi (99)

Gloucestershire v Essex
Royal London One-Day Cup
The Brightside Ground, Bristol
Sunday 20 May, 2018

Gloucestershire | George Hankins, Chris Dent, Benny Howell, Gareth Roderick +, Ian Cockbain, Jack Taylor, Ryan Higgins, Tom Smith, Dan Worrall, Matt Taylor, Chris Liddle.

Essex Eagles | Adam Wheater +, Varun Chopra, Tom Westley, Ravi Bopara, Dan Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate*, Ashar Zaidi, Simon Harmer, Neil Wagner, Jamie Porter, Sam Cook.

Umpires |Adrian Bull & Michael Burns

Toss |Essex Eagles, who elected to bat

Result | Gloucestershire won by 4 wickets

Gloucestershire beat Essex Eagles by 4 wickets with 11 balls to spare in the Royal London One-Day Cup clash at Bristol.

Gareth Roderick underpinned the home side’s successful run chase with an unbeaten 87 after the Eagles, who won the toss, had scored 287 for 7 thanks to 82 from Ashar Zaidi whose innings boasted flair and well-timed drives and pulls.

Roderick’s innings spanned 89 balls and included a six and seven fours and he played with calm common sense in the hosts well-paced reply.

At the halfway stage of their innings, the hosts were 126 for 2 and although opener George Hankins departed for 77 shortly after when he dragged a ball from Ravi Bopara onto his stumps, the presence of Roderick throughout the remainder of the match ensured the experience required to collect victory.

He and Ian Cockbain added 56 in 11 overs before Simon Harmer had the latter caught at short fine leg by Neil Wagner for 18 and although Jack Taylor went cheaply, Ryan Higgins joined Roderick to quickly put the issue beyond doubt,.

The pair posted 79 in 7 overs that included 19 in one over from Wagner that yielded two maximum blows from the bat of Higgins who struck out freely. By the time Higgins was run out by a direct throw from Ravi Bopara for 47 that included 3 sixes and three fours amongst the 27 balls faced, Gloucestershire were just three runs from the winning line.

The Eagles used seven bowlers with Harmer the most successful with 2 for 60 from his ten overs but on a good one-day batting pitch, it was the visitors batting that really came up short.

Openers Varun Chopra and Adam Wheater put on 74 in 12 overs but the loss of four wickets in 33 balls proved costly. Wheater was beaten in flight by Tom Smith and was leg befre for 41.

Tom Westley miscued and intended off drive and was caught at mid-off for 2, Dan Lawrence was caught at mid-on for 3 before Chopra was caught at gully for 42 to leave the visitors 93 for 4.

Ryan ten Doeschate and Bopara attempted to retrieve the situation but having added 47 in 11 overs, the Essex captain was run out for 22 when backing up by bowler Matt Taylor who deflected a drive from Bopara onto the wicket at the no-striker’s end.

Bopara reached 50 before he chased a wider delivery and was caught behind ending a 57 runs stand with Zaidi who took on the responsibility of restoring the innings that had slipped to 197 for 6.

The all-rounder picked off the loose deliveries and raised the tempo and the Eagles spirits with a sparkling 82 from 77 balls that included two huge sixes amongst nine boundaries.

He found an effective ally in Harmer who struck an unbeaten 34 in a stand worth 90 in ten overs that carried the Eagles to 287 for 7 but the loss of the four cheap wickets between the 12th and 17th overs proved defining.